Our current food system is unsustainable. For example, 26% of anthropogenic greenhouse emissions come from agriculture, while 14.5% come from animals – the same amount as the whole world's transportation. While consumers have their part in changing the food system, farmers have a responsibility to put people and the planet before profits. This article will outline the steps farmers can take to reduce emissions and make the food system more sustainable.
A Sustainable Food System Is Productive, Eco-Friendly, And Equitable
A sustainable food system will provide abundant, accessible nutrition to the world and preserve the planet's health by conserving resources and lowering emissions. Moreover, sustainable farming practices will promote economic and social equity for workers and communities that have been exploited or disadvantaged by the current system.
The Current System Pollutes The Planet And Our Society
Sustainable techniques will restore and maintain soil health in over-farmed areas by protecting the biodiversity of local ecology. In addition, eco-friendly farming practices will minimize the pollution of air, water, and land by phasing out chemicals and fossil-fuel consumption. Finally, a sustainable food system will embrace the diversity of populations that stand to benefit from a well-functioning agricultural infrastructure.
For example, the proportion of black-owned farms in the U.S. has declined by 85% in the last 100 years due to discrimination in regulatory and banking policies. Moreover, the (predominantly white) industrial farming system has perpetuated environmental racism by polluting nearby communities of color. This problem is particularly acute among concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). A sustainable food system will prioritize and subsidize local, equitable, and green activities.
Farmers Can Decide To Help
New technologies are on the horizon, promising to revolutionize food production. As a result, the next few decades will see a monumental shift in how we farm, from urban gardens to vertical farming and controlled environments. However, time is of the essence, and neither the climate nor society can afford to wait for theoretical improvements. Instead, responsible farmers can consider the following measures to speed the transition to a sustainable food system.
Location, Location, Location
Sustainable farming practices base their operations on the natural habitats underlying the farm. Therefore, solutions for one barley farmer will not be the same as for another in a different area.
So farmers should understand nearby habitats for wildlife (including insects), local watershed, and neighboring land. This knowledge will help them predict weather effects on the soil, pests, and water runoff. In addition, farmers who understand the local environment will be able to employ every other sustainability strategy more effectively.
Monocropping Destroys Soil; Rotation Can Restore It
Monocropping destroys the health of the soil, and fallow fields lose soil to erosion. Successfully sustainable farms plant cover crops between seasons for their main crops. Cover crops prevent erosion and act as fertilizer for the next round of the main crop.
In addition, crop rotation depletes different sets of nutrients from the soil each season. This method allows the ground to recover certain nutrients while the crop that consumes them grows in another field - an arrangement that improves the health of the soil and the quality of the produce.
Farmers can also plant strips of indigenous shrubs and trees around their fields to catch water runoff and consume excess nutrients and pollutants before reaching the water supply. This process, called field buffering, effectively reduces eutrophication - excess nutrients in the water that cause habitat destruction for native aquatic flora and fauna.
Nature Employs Her Own Pesticides
Natural ecosystems have a balanced predator-prey dynamic. However, Monocropping and industrial farming eliminate natural biodiversity and allow some pests to run rampant. Therefore, large farming operations use harmful pesticides and herbicides to suppress a problem they cause.
Sustainable farms focus on natural pest removal by promoting native biodiversity. Depending on location, this process could include cultivating populations of ladybugs, praying mantises, wasps, beetles, or flies. In addition, (re)introducing these species could require (re)introducing non-crop vegetation to the area, further discouraging monocropping.
Consequently, farmers researching their local environment should find it easy to employ natural pest control with non-invasive species.
Chemical Reduction Is Key
Responsible and sustainable farms avoid chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics. Although these compounds increase yields, they contaminate the environment and lead to highly resistant and dangerous bacteria. Instead, composting and crop rotation can improve and preserve fertility, output, and quality. Furthermore, manual weeding obviates the need for herbicides and promotes healthy employment levels.
Farmers Can Embrace Their Local Environment To Promote Sustainability
The two main factors in our unsustainable food system are monocropping and industrial farming. Fortunately, sustainable agriculture focuses on integrating food production with the natural ecology and local community supporting each farm. Therefore, farmers interested in moving towards a sustainable output can study and equitably promote their locale, rotate multiple crops, and avoid industrial chemicals. These actionable steps would carry us much closer to a sustainable food system if adopted at scale.
Key Business Takeaways
Buy local. When you need to cater functions for your business, avoid buying from large chains or outlets. Instead, seek out local options that source their supplies from local, small-scale farming outfits.
Always research where food comes from. At home or the office, make sure that whatever food you buy is sustainably and ethically sourced. Even if it is not local, you can support food businesses that are ecologically responsible in their production, packaging, and marketing.
Partner with or cross-promote sustainable farms. Depending on your company's industry, you could form a relationship with a sustainable farm. This collaboration could be a large project or something as simple as cross-promoting with swag. Every incentive for a sustainable food system helps.
Industrial farming is a catastrophe. Responsible farmers can take these steps to help build an ethical, equitable, and sustainable food system.
Our current food system is unsustainable. For example, 26% of anthropogenic greenhouse emissions come from agriculture, while 14.5% come from animals – the same amount as the whole world's transportation. While consumers have their part in changing the food system, farmers have a responsibility to put people and the planet before profits. This article will outline the steps farmers can take to reduce emissions and make the food system more sustainable.
A Sustainable Food System is Productive, Eco-Friendly, and Equitable
A sustainable food system will provide abundant, accessible nutrition to the world and preserve the planet's health by conserving resources and lowering emissions. Moreover, sustainable farming practices will promote economic and social equity for workers and communities that have been exploited or disadvantaged by the current system.
The Current System Pollutes the Planet and Our Society
Sustainable techniques will restore and maintain soil health in over-farmed areas by protecting the biodiversity of local ecology. In addition, eco-friendly farming practices will minimize the pollution of air, water, and land by phasing out chemicals and fossil-fuel consumption. Finally, a sustainable food system will embrace the diversity of populations that stand to benefit from a well-functioning agricultural infrastructure.
For example, the proportion of black-owned farms in the U.S. has declined by 85% in the last 100 years due to discrimination in regulatory and banking policies. Moreover, the (predominantly white) industrial farming system has perpetuated environmental racism by polluting nearby communities of color. This problem is particularly acute among concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). A sustainable food system will prioritize and subsidize local, equitable, and green activities.
Every incentive for a sustainable food system helps.
Farmers Can Decide to Help
New technologies are on the horizon, promising to revolutionize food production. As a result, the next few decades will see a monumental shift in how we farm, from urban gardens to vertical farming and controlled environments. However, time is of the essence, and neither the climate nor society can afford to wait for theoretical improvements. Instead, responsible farmers can consider the following measures to speed the transition to a sustainable food system.
Location, Location, Location
Sustainable farming practices base their operations on the natural habitats underlying the farm. Therefore, solutions for one barley farmer will not be the same as for another in a different area.
So farmers should understand nearby habitats for wildlife (including insects), local watershed, and neighboring land. This knowledge will help them predict weather effects on the soil, pests, and water runoff. In addition, farmers who understand the local environment will be able to employ every other sustainability strategy more effectively.
Monocropping Destroys Soil; Rotation Can Restore It
Monocropping destroys the health of the soil, and fallow fields lose soil to erosion. Successfully sustainable farms plant cover crops between seasons for their main crops. Cover crops prevent erosion and act as fertilizer for the next round of the main crop.
In addition, crop rotation depletes different sets of nutrients from the soil each season. This method allows the ground to recover certain nutrients while the crop that consumes them grows in another field - an arrangement that improves the health of the soil and the quality of the produce.
Farmers can also plant strips of indigenous shrubs and trees around their fields to catch water runoff and consume excess nutrients and pollutants before reaching the water supply. This process, called field buffering, effectively reduces eutrophication - excess nutrients in the water that cause habitat destruction for native aquatic flora and fauna.
Nature Employs Her Own Pesticides
Natural ecosystems have a balanced predator-prey dynamic. However, Monocropping and industrial farming eliminate natural biodiversity and allow some pests to run rampant. Therefore, large farming operations use harmful pesticides and herbicides to suppress a problem they cause.
Sustainable farms focus on natural pest removal by promoting native biodiversity. Depending on location, this process could include cultivating populations of ladybugs, praying mantises, wasps, beetles, or flies. In addition, (re)introducing these species could require (re)introducing non-crop vegetation to the area, further discouraging monocropping.
Consequently, farmers researching their local environment should find it easy to employ natural pest control with non-invasive species.
Chemical Reduction is Key
Responsible and sustainable farms avoid chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics. Although these compounds increase yields, they contaminate the environment and lead to highly resistant and dangerous bacteria. Instead, composting and crop rotation can improve and preserve fertility, output, and quality. Furthermore, manual weeding obviates the need for herbicides and promotes healthy employment levels.
Farmers Can Embrace their Local Environment to Promote Sustainability
The two main factors in our unsustainable food system are monocropping and industrial farming. Fortunately, sustainable agriculture focuses on integrating food production with the natural ecology and local community supporting each farm. Therefore, farmers interested in moving towards a sustainable output can study and equitably promote their locale, rotate multiple crops, and avoid industrial chemicals. These actionable steps would carry us much closer to a sustainable food system if adopted at scale.
Key Business Takeaways
Buy local. When you need to cater functions for your business, avoid buying from large chains or outlets. Instead, seek out local options that source their supplies from local, small-scale farming outfits.
Always research where food comes from. At home or the office, make sure that whatever food you buy is sustainably and ethically sourced. Even if it is not local, you can support food businesses that are ecologically responsible in their production, packaging, and marketing.
Partner with or cross-promote sustainable farms. Depending on your company's industry, you could form a relationship with a sustainable farm. This collaboration could be a large project or something as simple as cross-promoting with swag. Every incentive for a sustainable food system helps.
